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BLACK MARBLE JOHNNY AND MARY

Ahead of an EP of cover songs titled I Must Be Living Twice, L.A-based synth specialist and Sacred Bones signing Black Marble (aka Chris Stewart) has given Robert Palmer's 80s hit 'Johnny and Mary' a subtle electronic makeover. Applying ticking samples in place of hi-hats and a snappy 80-inspired snare, the precise motorik beat locks in perfectly with the fuzzy synth bass sequence that defines the track as distant guitars give Black Marble's rendition a distinctively more understated quality. Stewart explains: “It's not hard to find this old song kind of enchanting and more accessible than his ‘Addicted to Love’ era stuff, all relevancy subtext aside. And since the themes of the song deal with someone who’s undergoing sort of a career crisis, ‘scared that he’ll be caught, without a second thought,’ I thought it would be interesting to cover in the context of who he was and what he (and artists more broadly) often go through. It also felt nice to give some props to an early tune, focusing on a time in his ascent before a lot of inevitable complications.” I Must Be Living Twice will arrive on the 14th of August. -Holly Mullineaux 

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